Garner "Bob" Gayheart

1933 – 2016

Garner "Bob" Gayheart, 83, of Catlettsburg, Kentucky passed away Thursday, September 15, 2016 at Community Hospice in Ashland, KY.

The Lackey, Ky. native was born a son to late Kelley and Bertha (Centers) Gayheart on February 23, 1933. Bob was preceded in death by his wife, Linda Sue (Smith) Gayheart who passed away in 2012. 

After high school, Mr. Gayheart enlisted and served in both the United Sates Army and United States Navy. Bob later worked and retired after over 30 years of service as a crane operator for C&O Railroad. He was also the co-founder and owner/operator of My Dad's Pizza. He was a member of the VFW, Moose Lodge, and American Legion. He was also of the Christian faith. 

In addition to his parents and wife, Bob was preceded in death by: a son: Gary Gayheart; a grandson: Gary Lee Gayheart II;
4 brothers: Kelley, Romie, Wilky, and Danny; 2 sisters: Ruby and Watheta, 
Bob is survived by: 2 daughters: Sharon (Keith) Henson of Catlettsburg and Vicki (Mark) Pratt of Flatwoods; 5 grandchildren: Tara (Doug) Short of Ashland, Travis (Amber) Arthur of Flatwoods, Mark "Aron" (Skylar) Elswick of Catlettsburg, Lisa (Ryan) Ison of Grayson, and Kindra (Jonathan) Pratt of Ashland; 12 great grandchildren: Miranda, Austin, Ashton, Tahler, Trista, Kylee, Rylie, Spencer, Travis, Jr., Embree, Ryker and Reece;  
2 great-great grandchildren: Laynee and Emma; 2 Special sisters: Georgia Allen of Flatwoods and Debra (Ron) Durham of Lexington, KY. A host of nieces and nephews; And 3 special family members: Kathy Puceck and Pamela Thomas, Larry and Cathy Muche and Kelly King 
Funeral services ere conducted Wednesday, September 21, 2016 at Phillips Funeral Home, 1004 South 7th Street, Ironton with Pastor Brad Jenkins officiating.

Burial followed in Woodland Cemetery with graveside rites conducted by the VFW Post #8850.

Pallbearers: Keith Henson, Mark Pratt, Mark Elswick, Travis Arthur, Doug Short, and Ryan Ison. 

Charles “Porky” Nichols

1934 - 2016

Charles "Porky" Nichols, 82, of Russell, went home to be with the Lord on Friday, September 23, 2016 at Community Hospice Care Center in Ashland, KY.

Mr. Nichols was born in Ashland, KY, to the late Grover Ralph Nichols and the late Bessie Mae Yates Nichols.

Mr. Nichols was a long time, self- employed business owner in Russell, KY.

He was a KY Colonel, Constable, and former City of Russell councilman. He was an auctioneer for over 40 years, a 33rd degree Mason, a Shriner, and a Navy veteran in the India-China War.

He is survived by his wife, Elizabeth V. Nichols; a son Charlie Nichols, of Russell; two daughters, Kim Harbison (Danny) of Russell, and Kathy Arrowood (Roger) of Lakeland, FL; a brother, David Nichols (Judy) of Boyd Co., KY; and several grandchildren.

A memorial service will be held Tuesday, September 27, 2016 11 a.m. Kentucky Veterans Cemetery North East in Greenup Co., KY.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Community Hospice Care Center 2330 Pollard Road, Ashland, KY  41101.

Bailey Family Funeral Home in Flatwoods, KY has been entrusted with arrangements.

Opal Brown

1923 - 2016

Heaven gained an angel with the passing of Mrs. Opal Brown of South Shore, Friday, Sept. 23, 2016.

Opal was born Oct. 7, 1923, in Sandy Hook, the daughter of the late Darb and Netta Mae Turner of Elliot County.

She was a long time resident of South Shore and a member of South Shore Church of the Nazarene, where she served on the board and sang in the choir for many years.

She loved to travel the world and participated in missionary work across the globe. Her heart was devoted to God and helping others. She truly loved those who needed love the most.

Opal worked hard throughout her life; there was never a job she wouldn't tackle. She enjoyed gardening and loved flowers. Opal was strong and independent, a woman ahead of her time. She loved to share stories of her life growing up and her many adventures.

Opal was blessed with a large and loving family.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Lester Brown of 59 years; their son, Blaine; a son-in-law, Timothy (Sandra) Meeker; and one grandson.

She will be missed greatly by her children, Sandra Meeker, Gloria (Richard) Riddle, Greg (Betty) Brown and Kevin (Ronica) Brown; 10 grandchildren; and 17 great-grandchildren.

She leaves behind a legacy of strength and devotion to God and family. Her family is grateful for the blessing of her life and our time together.

Funeral services will be at 11 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2016, at South Shore Church of the Nazarene with The Rev. David Robirds and The Rev. Norman Potter officiating.

Burial will be in Elliot County Memorial Gardens in Sandy Hook.

Friends may call from 6 to 8 p.m. Monday, Sept. 26, 2016, at Roberson Funeral Home in South Shore and after 10 a.m. Tuesday at the church.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to fund missionary work at South Shore Church of the Nazarene Missionary fund, C/O Betty Hardin, 111 7th St., South Shore, KY 41175.

Condolences may be sent to robersonfuneral.com.

John Wesley Baker

1935 - 2016

John Wesley Baker, 80, of Flatwoods, died Monday in Our lady of Bellefonte Hospital in Russell.

He was born Dec. 7, 1935.

Funeral services were conducted at Evans Funeral Home in Raceland.

Burial was in Rose Hill Burial Park in Ashland.

Annette Madden

1947 - 2016

Annette Madden, 69, of Greenup, Kentucky passed away Wednesday September 21, 2016 at her residence in Greenup surrounded by her family.

Mrs. Madden was born January 25, 1947 in Greenup, Kentucky a daughter of the late Oscar and Mabel Adkins Messer.

She was a member of God’s Tabernacle Church in Raceland, Kentucky.

In addition to her parents she is preceded in death by her husband Frank Madden; and one brother Joseph Messer.

 She is survived by: two sons, Brian and Jacqueline Nolan of Wheelersburg, Ohio, Trampas Nolan and Trista Allard of Portsmouth, Ohio; two daughters: Rachele Adkins and Matt Locher of West Portsmouth, Ohio; Krystle Osborne of Portsmouth, Ohio; one brother, William and Vicki Messer of Hillsborough County, Florida; one sister, Georgia and Howard Blanton of Greenup, Kentucky; Grandchildren, Mason Nolan, Maria Nolan, and Kyli Osborne.

Funeral services were conducted Sunday September 25, 2016 at Reed Funeral Home in Greenup, Kentucky by Pastor Rick Mays.

Burial was in Baker-McGinnis Cemetery in Greenup.

Condolences may be made at rlrfuneralhome.com.

Jenniffa Jenny Sue Holmes

The world lost a light. A very bright light that danced, skipped, and twirled through our lives leaving a legacy of joy, class, and love.

Jenniffa "Jenny" Sue Holmes, socially savvy fashionista, travel ready, accomplished writer, darling of marketing, and a friend to all, passed away Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2016.

Her spirit is carried on by her husband, Monte Ward of Ashland; mother Barbara Holmes of Ashland; daughter Kelsey and Brad Bender and soon to arrive baby boy Elijah of Flatwoods; sister Myra and Tony Peffer of Vermont; brother Tim and Angel Holmes of Ashland; half sister and brother Jamie Hardy and Ronnie Holmes of Wilmington N.C.; cherished nieces and nephews, Charity, Abby, Gracie, Nate, Cian, Freya; and an extended family of relations and friends from absolutely every walk of life.

We were blessed to learn many valuable lessons from Jenny during her journey, among them: skip your way skinny, love wins, and believe in miracles.

Jenny's life is easy to honor. To do so, we draw from our experiences and lessons to guide us as we make a conscious decision to live life like Jenny.

To live life like Jenny, you must believe that others matter. You are given much, therefore, much is required of you. Jenny had a true sense of responsibility to her family, friends, and community, especially children. To live life like Jenny, you must spoil children with the opportunity to win. This is not optional.

A natural born fixer, Jenny viewed challenges and time as her ally. No matter the conflict, Jenny could reconstruct the entire world for a solution and then give someone else the credit. To live life like Jenny, you must trust yourself enough to know others might need a win more than you do.

Jenny's passion for the arts and talents in marketing led her to many years of service as the Marketing Director for The Paramount Arts Center of Ashland.

She adored her colleagues and the many projects they championed. But, to live life like Jenny, while at work, you should occasionally dance down the hallway in your Desigual dress to test out the slow-mo option on your camera.

The light inside can't be still. It must skip and dance and twirl and fly.

To live life like Jenny, you must helicopter over the one's you love. This is required. Text the one's you love nightly asking, "Are you home safe?" "Do you need anything?" "Are you OK?" If there IS a problem, your next text should read, "How can I help?"

If you hope to live life like Jenny, you need to believe in miracles. And, when faced with scary news, you should find the humor in it. Maybe write a book so others can laugh with you at the scary things.

To live life like Jenny, you absolutely must be madly in love with your family. Cherish every moment and make many memories so when your gone, you're not really gone. Death is limited that way.

Ultimately, if you choose to live life like Jenny, you must let love win in your own life. Jenny trusted love to set her eternal destiny. Because of this, we don't say goodbye to Jenny. It's just "See you later", "Bye, love you."

So, Jenny requested a party where we all wear red and celebrate her life.

What Jenny wants Jenny gets. With the help of Preston Family Funeral Home in Ashland and many volunteers, her party was held at the beautiful Paramount Arts Center Sunday, Sept. 25, 2016, beginning with visitation and fellowship "The mixer" from 3 to 7 p.m., with a memorial "the party" starting at 7 p.m.

In lieu of flowers, the family have requested trust fund donations for Jenny's soon to arrive grandchild Elijah and the Bender Family.

Jerry Michael Devaney

19472-2016

Jerry Michael Devaney, 72, of Flatwoods, died peacefully, Saturday evening, Sept. 17, 2016, in Community Hospice Care Center in Ashland, following a short illness.

He was born April 22, 1942, in Midkiff, W.Va., a son of the late Thomas B. and Edna Lewis Devaney.

Jerry retired from Fairchild Machine Shop as a machinist. He was a member of the Hoods Creek Enterprise Baptist Church.
In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his wife, Barbara in 2009; and two brothers, Charles and Danny.

He is survived by three sons, Jerry Devaney Jr. of Ashland, Mark Allen Devaney of Flatwoods and Jeffrey L. Devaney of Flatwoods; a daughter, Sandra K. Prater of Ashland; five brothers, Earl, Dale, Marvin, Bobby and Eddie Devaney; a sister, Elizabeth Offill; 13 grandchildren; 12 great-grandchildren; and a special friend, Phyllis Haney.

Funeral services were conducted at Preston Family Funeral Home in Ashland by Pastor Steve Fraley.

Burial was in Rose Hill Burial Park in Ashland.